Evolution of the Judicial System in 19Th Century Imperial Russia

Colby College Digital Commons @ Colby Senior Scholar Papers Student Research 1960 Evolution of the judicial system in 19th century Imperial Russia Richard Casson Colby College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/seniorscholars Colby College theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed or downloaded from this site for the purposes of research and scholarship. Reproduction or distribution for commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the author. Recommended Citation Casson, Richard, "Evolution of the judicial system in 19th century Imperial Russia" (1960). Senior Scholar Papers. Paper 45. https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/seniorscholars/45 This Senior Scholars Paper (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Digital Commons @ Colby. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Scholar Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Colby. The Evolution of the Judicial S stem in th Century Imper a Russ a by Richard F. Casson Submitted in Partial Requirement ror Fulri11ment of the Senior Scholar Program Colby Collage 1960 APPROVED BY /! (, t: . l (t ""I I Ild'o"." ----::--"Mr::-ajor Department Chairman .' 1 1· ) .: J~/~c~~i& TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION . ~ . 1 Chapter I. THE OLD COURTS · · • · · · · • . • • • • 3 II. THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE NEW COURTS • 25 III. INDIVIDUAL PARTS AND PROCKDURE IN THE NEW COURTS • · · • · · · · · • . · 43 IV. THE DECLINE OF THE NEW JUDICIAL SYSTEM • • • 68 CONCLUSION • • • • • 91 FOOTNOTES . • • • • • • • 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • 106 Introduction There is a common misconception that only a very priffiitive judicial system ever existed in Imperial nussia. This paper shall demonstrate that this belief is quite false. Chapter I will present a cross-sectional analysis of the legal and court system in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I, exemplifying the condition of the courts dur ing the entire first half of the 19th century. The analysis will show that a jUdicial system definitely existed, but that it was in a corrupt, complex, and confused state. It will be demonstrated that the structure of the system con sisted of an over-abundance Qf courts with no distinct jurisdiction or duties, and that the judges, prosecutors, and attorneys, as well as civil servants at all levels, were depraved and ignorant. An investigation of the pro cedure will prove that it was inquisitorial by nature, lengthy, and expensive. The progress made during the reign of Nicholas I to improve this state of affairs will be traced in the latter part of Chapter I. Sperensky's work to codify the laws will be emphasized. During the early years of the reign of Alexander II, definite steps were taken to completely revamp the judicial system. These steps, which will be described in some detail, culminated in the "eform of 186h. p-2 Since this reform created a completely new legal struc ture, Chapters II and III shall be concerned with a detailed description of tt-is new system as ordered in 186u. Chapter II shall discuss the total structure of the courts. It will be stressed that a great si~plification of the old system was brought about, reducing the number of courts and instances of appeal. Every court involved will be analyzed carefully. Chapter III shall include a description of the individual parts essential to the functioning of the courts, as well as a discussion of the procedure involved. It will be demon strated that a new and independent 5udiciary was created; that legitimate attorneys and bar associations were institu ted. An analysis of the procedure will show that people accused of crimes were protected in court through the insti tution of publicit~, oral testimony, and trial by jury. Chapter IV will be concerned with the workings of the new judicial system as it was put into effect. It will trace the growing reactionary attitude of the government beginning as early as 1870 and the resulting deterioration of the judicial system until 1917 when the revolution fundamentally altered this system. It will thus be showTI that before 1864 the condition of the legal and court system in Russia was at a low ebb; during 1864 and the years imMediately following"·, it reached its peak. After l87C. the system began to deteri orate, though it never again declined to the level that existed before the Reform of Alexander II. CHAPTE'O I The Old Courts Your courts. are blac£ with black untruth, You are branded with the yoke of slavery, Filled with godless flattery, putrifying lies, With dead and shameful lazines , And lowly filth of every kind. I This poetic description Df the courts in nussla prior to 1864 was written by the slavophile, Alexis Khomiakov. It serves to introduce this chapter which contains a cross-sectional analysis of the courts during the reign of Nicholas T. This poem, though a bit overemphatic, is a fairly accurate description of the deplorable condition of the courts under Nicholas T. ~uch of the same sentiment can be seen sOThetirr.e after the reform had been inaugurated in a remark made by Ivan Aksakov who had, himself, served on many pre-reform jUdiciary institutions: "I'he old courts! At the very memory of it my hair stands up on ena, a frost 2 rasps rr.:y skin! 1. The entire court system was very complex. It included a g r-ea t many instance-s, or levels of appeal, designed to serve as a check and counter-check system, but w~ich merely hindered the procedure that was already too slow and inef ficient. The complexit~ of the judicial system was also caused by the great variety of courts at each level of appeal. p-4 which in turn, was the result of a system based on class distinction. Lastly, the courts were so dependent upon the administration, that they were referred to as the "apperi dices of the administration. ,,3 There existed, basically, only three levels of appeal. The courts of first instance were courts of original juris diction. At this level, criminal cases, after a preliminary investigation, as well as civil suits were tried for the first time. Among the courts of first instance there were district courts, consisting of a president and four asses sors, two elected by the nobility, and two elected by the state peasants.4 In addition to these there were municipal courts and aulle courts, both of which, consisted of a bur gomaster, and two elders; gUildhalls; boundary offices; commercial courts; and, arbitration courts. 5 Both civil and criminal cases originated in all of these various courts de pending upon the issue involved, but the jurisdiction of these courts often overlapped. In the second instance, or appellate instance, the civil and criminal tribunals were called Palaty and were, in smaller towns, combined into one court. The civil and the criminal courts of second instance consisted of the President, who was elected by the district nobility, the President's Deputy, who was appointed by the Minister of Justice, and four assessors, two of whom were also elected by the nobility of the district and two by the merchants (burghers).6 p-5 The third instance was the nullng (or Governing) Senate consisting of Senators appointed by the Government.* In reality, however, there were as many as eight steps through which a case could conceivably pass before finally being settled. A. F. Kon L, one of Rua s Lat s better known jurists during the era of the reforrred courts, gave an excellent description of these ei~ht possible steps: A suit or criffiinal case which started in a district or Bulic court could be submitted to the appellate instance of the civil or criminal Palata; then to the corresponding department of the Senate; further, in case of divergence of opinions among the Senators, to t~e General Assembly of the Senate; frorr. the General Assem bly, in case a majority of two thirds of voices had not been reached, to the Advisory Board of the Ministry of Justice. From there, the case or suit had to be sent back to the General Assembly of the Senate together with a conciliatory order from the Minister of Justice to the Chief Prosecutor. If again the majority of two thirds required for a decision had not been' obtained in the General Assembly of the Senate, the procedure was taken over by the Department of Clerical and Civil Affairs of the State Council. Furthermore, the decision of the General Assembly of the State Council had to be confi~ed by the Emperor. 7 In addition to these many instances, each with their various courts, and all of which were included in the grouping of "r-egu.lar-" courts, there existed numerous "spe c La L" courts for every class of s oc Le t y , The state peasants had Village district administrations known as volostnye sudy. In some civil suits the jurisdiction of *The Senate, which had been founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1711, was suffered to be the chief administrative and legislative organ as well. The supremacy of the Senate, however, was largely theoretical. Its activities other than jUdicial, were insignificant. ' p-6 this court was shared bv the provincial board. To the police were assigned the collection of money where the debtor did not deny nls obligation, but would not pay; and, inquiries into criminal cases. 9 The "spect.aL'' courts which would have affected the largest part of the population, had they been used extensively, were the manorial courts. These courts were merely an informal session conducted by the manor lord in his home. This inforffiallty did not limit the lord's rather extensive powers.

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